Teachers Pet
by ShuniceMarie
Summary: Arya Stark is a Lady. Even if she doesn't want to be. She has been sent to Dragon Garden, a school to teach young women how to become Ladies. She thought her life was over, until she meets Gendry, the blue eyed teacher who will test her beliefs. When mysterious attacks start happening to the young Ladies of Dragon Garden, will Arya's mischievous ways be enough to solve the crimes?
1. Chapter 1

"I am not going!" I said and slammed my hands down on the table, hard. I don't really know why i slammed my hands on the table for, maybe just to see if made them flinch at the sound of the bang being echoed around in our spacious dining room. Hopefully it would make them rethink their decision. It seemed to have some effect because mother gave a slight gasp and looked to my father with a worried expression. I did feel slightly bad making them feel this way, but there was no way in hell was i going to a fucking boarding school.

"You are going. This is not up for debate Arya." My father, Eddard Stark, or Ned for short, looked down at me like I was a child. Which i guess technically i still was at the age of 17. But I knew I was old enough to know what i wanted, and this definitely wasn't something I wanted to do.

I sat back down and crossed my arms tight against my chest. "Why? I know I'm not as good with all this 'Lady' stuff as Sansa, but am I really that bad i need to be sent away to learn it?" I glanced at the photo of all us together on the mantelpiece. There I was, 4 years younger then, hair cut short and boyish, in a tight hug with all my brothers. And there stood Sansa, 2 years older than me standing with my parents. Even then 4 years ago she looked so grown up. Her head held high and her posture almost perfect. She definitely didn't need to be taught on how to be a Lady, she already was one, even back then. She knew her duties, she knew that the family we had been born into expected this of her.

My family's name was Stark, and that came with a lot of responsibility. We were the lords and ladies of the Winterfell estate and was in charge of all the people that lived and worked here. Which was about a few thousand. I know that these traditions have mainly died out a long time ago, and being a Lord or a Lady wasn't as important as it used to be years ago, but my family took it very seriously. Especially my father who expected me to behave and act like a proper Lady. Oh how perfect his life would have been if he had two daughters like Sansa. But no, he had me. I much prefer spending my time running around in the muck with my brothers, learning archery and fencing with them. It was much more fun being outside riding horseback across our lands than sitting in the house with all the other lady's learning how to knit. There was so much of the world i planned on seeing, so much i wanted to learn, and I wasn't going to do that by going to a boarding school for Ladys at Kings Landing.

"I don't want you to be your sister Ayra, but you're 17 now. Next year you will be expected to look for a suitable husband. You don't even know how to sew!" My mother, Catelyn Stark, said in a sweet voice, trying to sound reasonable.

"There is more to life than knowing how to bloody sew!" I said, they both winced at my harshness, "There's a big world out there mother, and i want to see it all! I don't want to sit here and wait for my 'prince charming' to come and set me free. I want to live my life."

My father shook his head. "Yes, well you are 17, and still a child. And while you are still my child I have a say in what happens for your future. We have both decided this is the best thing for you."

I continued to argue with them for the next few hours, but it was no good. Want i wanted fell on deaf ears, and they told me i was leaving tomorrow. I hated them for this. I don't this i could ever forgive them.

I was a good student in my school, I got A's across all subjects. But this school wasn't about your normal education, it was for the higher class's loose cannon children. The ones that didn't want to obey and follow the expected routes of them. I guess you could say it's a school to break people, to take what they love and crush it until there is nothing left of you expect what your family wants you to be.

I didn't pack my belongings, just to add a little more disturbance to the trip that had been planned for me in the morning. But when morning came and I awoke, my stuff was already in suitcases and trunks ready to go at the door. I sighed as i looked at my things. All my clothes were joggers, baggy shorts and tops. No long beautiful dresses or knee length skirts in my wardrobe, so that will be interesting when I arrive at the school.

My brothers pulled me in for a big group hug before my bus pulled up at the door. Rickon even cried and pleaded to mother and father not to let me go. But they ignored his tears and began carrying my stuff to the bus. Bastards.

I waved them all a farewell before I got on the bus, purposely ignoring my parents advances of saying goodbye. On the bus in each row sat a different girl. Each one obviously the trouble child of their own families being shipped off just like I was.

I sat in my own row, not wanting to speak to anyone, just like the rest of the girls on here. As the bus pulled away, I tried my best not to look back. But it was impossible, I glanced back to see my brothers standing on the porch, Bran was holding Rickon close to him as if holding him back from running after me. Even more mother looked like she was crying and a small pang of regret hit my chest for not saying goodbye. I quickly pushed that feeling aside as it was their fault for sending me away!

They officially had no Daughters living on the Winterfell Estate now. Sansa was now 19, and had already found a suitable husband and was now married. Theon Greyjoy, he seemed nice. If not a bit full of himself, but so was Sansa so i guess they matched perfectly. She would visit with him now and again, and she did look happy. I was happy for her, but her life is not something I want for myself. I am more than just some Lords wife!

The bus journey took around 2 hours to get to King's Landing. Half way through, people began introducing themselves to each other. I honestly didn't want to make friends, well, at least not right now. Some of them looked like interesting people, one lady's hair was bright pink which I'm sure will make for interesting events when we finally arrive at the school. I grabbed my headphones and listened to music all the while watching the lands change as we drove past.

The land went from green, and full of animals and life to nothing but a concrete jungle as we neared Kings Landing. I definitely wasn't a city girl myself, i enjoyed the fresh air and freedom the country could bring. In a city there was so many people, everyone seemed in such a rush. I thought of home, riding my horse Nymeria around our lands. Near the edge there was a large stream that divided the grass lands in half. I would trot with Nymeria while peering over to watch the fish swim downstream. I always wondered what was at the end of that stream, would i ever find out?

I noticed a bit of commotion on the bus and the girls all hurried to press their faces against the window. I took out my headphones and listened. "There it is!" One of them said. I followed their gazes and there it was indeed.

Ahead of us was the great school, Dragon Garden they called it. It was massive, with multiple floors held up by millions of bricks, and even a beautiful entrance with one road going in and out of its big iron gates. The entrance on either side of the road was covered in greener than green grass and in the centers held two large bushes shaped like a dragon. It was very impressive. But it didn't fool me. I know deep down that this was all a facade to seem like a great place to live to us women being forced to come here.

We passed the iron gates and as everyone awed at the beautiful landscape, I turned around and watched as the iron gate closed behind us, locking away the rest of the world and also my freedom.

We pulled up outside and the bus driver announced for us to get off. They did, one by one everyone rushed off the bus, now all excited to see the place we had been shipped off too. But i suddenly became frozen to my seat, my heart pounding in my chest. Was this really happening? Was I really staying here for the better part of a year? I felt so much hate, hate for my parents for doing this to me, hate for this school for trying to change me. Hate for myself for being different.

I heard the bus driver calling me to get off, but i was frozen on the spot. Maybe if I stayed here long enough they'd give up and drive me home. I heard him speaking to someone who wasn't on the bus and felt the bus sway slightly as they climbed on. I felt so trapped, those iron gates closing behind really made me feel like a prisoner, I couldn't believe this was happening to me.

"Are you okay?" A warm friendly voice said to me, it sounded so genuinely filled with concern that I actually forgot what I was worrying about for a second and was able to glance up at the voice. There, staring down at me was the most crystal blue eyes I have ever seen. I have never seen eyes so blue in all my life, and his face… wow. He was extremely handsome, but not in a way that made me nervous, but comfortable. This face felt like a friend, someone I had known for years. I felt my heart rate slow and my hands that was gripping the seat under me relaxed. He sat on the seat next to me, facing me.

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I don't know what happened there." I leaned back and focused on his face. He looked so young! Too young to be my teacher, surely.

"It's okay, what's wrong?" He asked, his voice was even and filled with what sounded like genuine concern.

I shrugged. "That's a bit of a silly question, I think everyone here is here for the same reason. To become something they don't want to be."

He looked away, his face full of thought. "Well, some of them are sure. But some are coming to seriously learn, being a lady and also keeping good grades and learning things all ladies must learn is hard. But yes, some aren't here because they personally want to be. I guess you're one of those?" I nodded. "What's your name?"

"Arya Stark." He gave me a little smile.

"I spoke with your father about enrolling you here. He said you might a little.. Difficult." His voice sounded a little harder now, like he was slowly fading from being friendly to becoming my teacher. I didn't like that.

"I'm not difficult, I'm curious." I paused to think of that word. "Yes, a curious soul you could say." I turned to face him and leaned forward bringing our faces closer. "So, who are you?"

He studied me for a moment, I wondered if it was hard for him not to glance down at the cleavage i had slightly exposed by leaning forward. But to my disbelief, he didn't and actually held my gaze.

"Gendry Baratheon. My father is actually the headmaster here, he will be retiring soon and I plan on taking over, so I'm sort of currently in charge."

I nibbled my bottom lip slightly before replying. "You took too young to be in charge. Surely you can't be much older than I am. How old are you?"

Gendry rolled his eyes and stood up. "My age is none of your concern M'lady, now if you'd please-."

"Don't you dare say that." I interrupted.

He looked down at me, a confused expression on his face. "Say what?"

"'M'lady'" I repeated and stood up as well. Standing up i could see that he was actually a lot taller than me, maybe 5 foot 9? I was very short for my age, at only 5 foot 1. His body was also as equally handsome as his face, large broad shoulders and you could see he worked out, even under his crisp white shirt and thin blue tie.

He gave a small laugh and looked down at me. "Well, I am sorry to tell you this Arya Stark, but you are indeed a Lady, and we here at Dragon Garden will do all we can to help you remember that."

I gave a small smile and looked up at him with such an intense glare I could have sworn I saw him frown ever so slightly. "I promise you Gendry, by the time this year is through you will know for certain that I am anything but a Lady."

I scooted past him, ignoring that my hairs on my arms stood up as my hand grazed past his stomach. As I jumped off the bus, one thought popped into my head, maybe this year won't be too bad after all with Gendry Baratheon here.


	2. Chapter 2

"Welcome! Welcome!" Robert Baratheon's voice boomed over the microphone. Everyone filed in and took their seats. We sat in a grand hall, the art work here was beautiful. The floor was solid hardwood, but not the new type you see in most houses, old thick wood that you could see had been recently polished. The walls were covered in thick cloth banners, all printed with the symbols of great houses. The Lion for the Lannisters, the three headed dragon for the Targaryens, and even the Wolf for my family the Starks. I bowed my head as I thought about my family. I still held so much hatred towards them for doing this to me, but I also missed them. The thought that i would not be seeing home for a very long time made my stomach turn.

I glanced around at my fellow students, they all looked around at the huge hall as well, talking amongst themselves about how wonderful it was. I vaguely heard Robert Baratheon starting to speak, silencing the murmurs in the small crowd.

"Welcome Ladies!" He started, this actually received a few cheers which made me roll my eyes. "Thank you for coming to Dragons Garden! We are sure you will receive nothing but the highest education here. We pride ourselves on being one of the best schools for ladies and all of our staff members work hard to give you the best education. Not only in normal studies, but also in what it takes to become the best Lady you can be!"

He paused and scanned his eyes over the women in front of him. I have heard rumours of Robert, and most of them were not nice. People usually described him had a bit of a drunk who likes his women. Maybe he was scanning us in hopes of finding his next wife?

I smiled to myself for my naughty thoughts and tuned back into his speech. "We will teach you many things here, how to walk, dance and literally talk like a Lady. Now, I know most of you here are actually here to learn, but for the select few that did not choose to be here, we hope you will respect our school rules and not disrupt any fellow students." As he took a deep breath, one of the students stood up. I recognised her as the girl with pink hair.

She spoke loud and clear, her voice surprisingly higher than I had imagined. "Disrupt them how?" She asked. She had a very distinct look, bright pink hair but blacker than black eye make up. Her face held a few piercings and her arms were covered in a couple of tattoos. I liked her look, but I was sure this wasn't approved off here.

Robert glanced away from the piece of paper he was reading, obviously not expected to be interrupted. He squinted at the girl, "Excuse me?"

"What type of thing counts as 'disruption?'" she asked, "Is this what you meant?" I don't know why she did it, and I really didn't want to know her reasonings, but she turned around, pulled down her trousers and flashed everyone her sparkling white bum cheeks. The students and staff all burst out in shock and outroar, i swear some of the prissy perfect woman was near fainting at the sight of seeing another girls ass. I just found it funny. "Does that count?" She asked once her trousers where back around her waist.

Robert stared at her for a moment, probably carefully thinking what to say next. But he didn't get a chance to speak, the girl suddenly burst out in an angry rage, cursing them all and telling them exactly what she thought of their school. Once she was done she sat back down, crossed her arms and sunk into her chair. No one really knew how to continue after that, so Robert just dismissed us and said that dinner was being served at 6pm sharp.

As we were all being led to find our new rooms, I secretly hoped i would be in a room with Pink haired girl. If i was going to plan an escape with anyone, my best chance would be to have her as my ally and help me get out of here.

"Arya Stark!" The lady announced outside a room numbered 686. I peered inside and stared at the room that I would be living in for the foreseeable future. There were two beds, both sporting plain white bed sheets. The bed did look comfortable which was a plus side. The room had plain cream walls, which looked newly painted, the floor also had plain cream carpet. Plain, it was very plain.

"Myrcella Lannister!" She shouted next. I crossed my fingers and hoped that it was the pink haired girl, but no. Of course not. Lannisters where famous for their golden locks, not pink. Myrcella squeezed through the group of girls. She was a very beautiful girl, golden hair trickling down her back like a waterfall, her eyes were green and looked so inviting and friendly that for a moment I forgot I was annoyed at her for not being the girl I wanted as a roommate. She definitely would not help me plan any escapes.

"Hello! My name is Myrcella, you can call me Cella for short if you want. Isn't this place amazing? It's so beautiful and grand, i just love the decor…." She continued on, rambling nonsense for what felt like a lifetime. I just stared at her, hoping, praying she would stop talking soon.

She didn't. In the end, I thought I'd try and tune her out and start unpacking my things. As I went through my clothes I noticed something that was a little out of the ordinary. Pulling it out of my bag revealed a long sweeping light green dress. It was slightly glittery, like it had a sheen over it, the neckline was cut low, perhaps a little too low for the dress code at this school. Even i couldn't deny how beautiful it was. Stuck to the tag inside was a note, i pulled it off and read it.

_You can thank me later, Sansa._

Myrcella noticed the dress and rushed to me. "Oh, wow. That is absolutely stunning. Where did you get it? I must have one made for myself when i get home!"

I shrugged. "I don't know, it was a gift." I said, giving it one last glance before hiding it away in my closet. There was no way in hell that i was going to wear that. Not because I didn't like it, how could I not like it? It's just it isn't me. I wouldn't feel myself, wearing that would make me feel like i'm lying, not only to myself but to everyone who would see me wearing it. No, I decided there and then that nothing, no matter how important, would ever convince me to wear that dress.

Myrcella came up behind me and pulled the dress back out of the wardrobe. "They must like you very much to give you a gift this grand!"

I gave a small smile and carried on unpacking my things. For the next couple of hours, after all the packing was done, I had no choice but to sit there and listen to this girl go on and on about how excited she was to be here. Couldn't she tell that i would rather be anywhere else in the world than sitting in this bedroom with her.

I tuned out and my thoughts travelled to Gendry. I didn't see him in the hall where his father welcomed everyone. I wonder what he was doing right now… Was he also thinking of me?

Shut up Arya,of course he wasn't. Why do I even care? The last thing on my mind should be men, it should be learning how to escape this awful fucking school!

I stood up and opened the window. Well, they must be on a tight budget because you couldn't get a foot through that thing it was so small. Looking down the hallway i noticed it had cameras on each end. "What are you doing?" Myrcella asked, standing behind me.

Looking for a way to freedom, I thought. But i didn't answer her. I looked at her, she stood there in her pretty pink knee length dress, and a thought came to my head. "Why are you here, aren't your family like one of the most important people in the world?"

She laughed. "I highly doubt that." her voice was so sweet and soft, "But mother is very busy. Since father died she has to do a lot of work herself, so thought it was only fair that we be sent to this school to get a chance at the best education we can get." She paused and grabbed a photo frame she had placed near her bedside table. She passed it to me, showing me all smiling faces, of her mother and father, her two brothers and herself. They all looked so happy. I suddenly felt bad for her. I have judged her too harshly, just because she enjoyed being a Lady didn't mean she was a bad person. Clearly she had been through heartbreak and pain with the death of her father. I gave her a small nudge.

"Well, I'm happy for you Cella, I'm glad at least one of us will enjoy our time here." She looked at me with a worried expression.

"Don't you want to be here?"

I sighed and shook my head, "I couldn't think of a worse place to be." I answered truthfully. She gave me a sad look and placed the photo frame back on her bedside table. I walked over to the world's smallest window and peered outside. The grounds were a beautiful sight, but they were encased in the city around them. The cities buildings surrounded Dragons Garden like a prison, trapping me and everyone inside.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A couple of days pass. I have settled into my new school, everyone had introduced themselves and we have all got our class schedules. Even though I didn't want to be here, I was glad that everyone did seem nice, though i couldn't shake the feeling that i didn't belong. There was a lot of girls here that did actually want to come to this school and learn, which shocked me. I thought everyone here was being forced to come this school like myself. I couldn't help but feel like i stuck out in this crowd of women. All of them was so beautiful and elegant, and what was i compared to them?

As we all sat in the hall at dinner times, on a large wooden table that seemed to go on forever, the girls around me cooed about all the Lords they couldn't wait to meet when it came time for them to find a suitable husband.

I do want to get married. I want to settle down and have a family, i always envisioned that i'd have two children, probably both boys. I'm sure they would look an awful lot like their father, the husband role was still a big blur to me. But this was all one day in the far future. I couldn't think about getting married, settling down and having children of my own when I still felt like a child myself! How on earth could I look after another human being when I could barely remember to brush my own hair in the mornings? I looked across the table to the pink haired girl who i'd recently learned was called Obella Martell. She was sat opposite me, her back hunched over as she ate her plate full of rice and what looked to be peas mixed in it. She definitely stuck out in the crowd, not only for her appearance, but her mannerisms as well. She didn't greet people the proper way, nor did she sit like a normal lady would sit. I felt more connected to her than any of these women in this room.

"What do you want?" I asked her. The other girls quietened down and listened to her response.

She glanced up at me, her black eye makeup was slightly smudged. To some this might have fooled them into believing it was a fashion statement, but to me i noticed it was from wiping away tears. Her fingers also held black smudge marks and her eyes looked puffy and slightly red. You wouldn't notice if you hadn't been looking, but i was. I wanted to know who these women that i was going to living with really were. And even though I'm sure this girl could beat my ass in a fight, I've discovered she isn't as tough as she makes out.

She gave a shrug and continued eating her food. The other girls slowly went back to their conversations, and I let them before I continued. "Where are you from?" I asked.

She looked up at me again, holding an expression of annoyance. "Dorne." She finally answered, going back to eating.

I've heard of Dorne, beautiful hot climate, desert like, but i have never been myself. Her home sounds so different compared to mine. Our land was beautiful, but it was usually covered in a blanket of snow.

"Did your family make you come here too?" I asked.

Suddenly she slammed her fork down on her plate. "Look, Arya was it? I'm not here to make friends, so i'd much rather not sit here and make stupid chit chat about shit i couldn't care less about."

I realised everyone was now staring at us again. So I couldn't exactly be honest and tell her the real reason i was talking to her. I wasn't looking for friends either, I wanted an alliance in helping me escape. But with her stinking attitude maybe i should go about this alone. I didn't speak to her again and soon became invisible in this crowd of women.

The next day was the first day of lessons. Looking at my class schedule it read, Speech ; Varys, room 236. So here I was, staring in the mirror at my reflection, I wore comfortable jogging bottoms and a baggy plain white t-shirt. I noticed my freckles that i'm sure most women would try to hide away with make up, not me. I liked my freckles. I grabbed hold of my hair and swept it up into a high ponytail before heading off for my first lesson in becoming a lady. I followed Myrcella who couldn't contain her excitement at attending the class.

Myrcella was a beautiful woman. She reminded me a lot of Sansa, in that she was just naturally perfect. Well, it felt to me like they was both perfect. No doubt they both had their flaws, but looking at Myrcella now it was hard to spot them. Today she wore a tight light blue dress, grey tights and dolly shoes. Around her neck she had a beautiful blue sheer scarf that drifted around her body in the breeze, making her look angelic. I'm sure any Lord would be more than happy in having Myrcella as their wife. Glancing down at my attire i'm sure they'd think twice before accepting me. I couldn't help but give a small smile to myself when i imagined their faces as they drifted from looking at Myrcella to then looking at me. What two completely different people we were.

"I've been looking forward to lessons since I arrived here! It's gone by so fast so far hasn't it Arya?" I gave a small nod as my response.

For me, it had dragged. Every minute that ticked by felt like an hour for me. But secretly, I was looking forward to classes just to have something to do instead of sitting in our room, walking the garden and eating. Also, I hadn't seen Gendry since our brief encounter and I was sure I would see him soon now that lessons had started.

We walked into the classroom 236 and took a seat at our desks. Looking down I noticed carved into the desk was the name Cersi with a heart around it.

"Good morning Ladies." A gentleman said as he entered the room. He was a plump man with a bald head that gleamed in the bright ceiling lights, like a bowling ball. He didn't wear a suit, but instead baggy soft material trousers and a plain flowy baggy top. Sort of reminded me of that 60's peace and love style of men's clothes.

He stood at the front of the room and scanned the room, looking at us all individually. "My name is Varys, and I am your teacher for the next hour. During this hour, I will begin with what we will be doing for the rest of the year. Which is teaching you all proper manners, and talking properly. Does anyone have any questions so far?" He asked and continued to look around at us all.

No one responded so he continued, this time moving behind his desk to take a seat as he spoke to us. "Can anyone tell me why it is important to speak properly?"

No one answered so he continued. "We need to use proper language when speaking so that we don't come across as uneducated. Being polite and leaving out profanity is such an important thing when speaking to people. We don't want to address someone we have just met and give them the wrong impression of us do we Ladies?"

Everyone shook their head. I tried not to laugh. How ridiculous did he sound? Why should using a slang word change the way someone views me? If it did maybe i wouldn't want to be one of their friends. This went on for a while, with him saying a sentence a normal person would say, and then telling us it was wrong and showing us how to correctly say it. I glanced over at Myrcella who was engrossed in every word he said. She'd study him, and write down everything he just said as if it was the lord himself speaking to her. I tried to hide the annoyance I felt from my face as I raised my hand.

"Yes…. Arya is it?" Varys asked scanning the paper on his desk to find my name.

"Yes, umm i need to use the toilet." I said and stood up.

"Yes! Right there, perfect example!" Varys said, clapping his hands together with excitement. "Ladies would never use the word Toilet, you should say Lavatory from now on."

I gave small nod and continued on my tracks for the door. I could feel everyone's eyes watching me as i moved around the desks, heading for the exit. My hand opened the door and I was near freedom when on the other side of the frame i bumped into something. "Ow."

I heard the door squeak closed behind me and glanced up. Gendry's half smile looked down at me. "Sorry." He said and rubbed his shoulder, "I wasn't expecting someone to come out the door during lessons, never mind someone basically running out of there."

"I wasn't running." I argued back and began walking down the hall towards the toilet… well i think it was this way at least. To be honest seeing Gendry has thrown me in a spin and i was a little disorientated. I tried not to think of little contact we had made when i bumped into him, my hand had rested against his chest just for a brief moment, but it was enough for me to notice that his chest felt hard under my palm. Maybe he was hiding some muscles under those clothes. I felt my face start to flush at the thought of him under his clothes. Wow, i need to stop, what is wrong with me?!

He fell into step next to me, keeping up with my quick pace easily with long strides. Oh what i'd give to be taller. "Where are you running too?"

"A Lady shouldn't speak of such things." I teased, flashing him a smile.

He laughed, "Fair enough…" He paused slightly, looking at me from the corner of his eye. His lips parted in a big grin, the he slightly licked his lips as he turned to look forward, watching were he was going. I felt my heart speed up it's pace as i admired him. The room was filled with a bright yellow glow from the sunlight streaming in through the giant windows on either end of the hallway. The light danced over both of us, but gave Gendry such a dreamy look to him. He wore a a grey baggy jumper today and plain blue jeans, looking smart but also casual. I definitely felt under dressed at this school. His brown hair looked styled messier than I remembered. But his eyes, his eyes were still the same crystal blue that i thought about when lying in my room trying to pass the time. "How are you finding it here so far?" He asked, his voice was quiet, but still made my skin tingle just hearing it.

I felt my smile drop from my face. "You know I don't want to be here Gendry. How do you think it's going?"

He looked over to me. "Why are you so adamant that you don't belong here? Give it a chance, it might open your eyes to the good things that you can learn here. Every day things as well, not just speaking properly." I saw him give a slight roll of his eyes at that last part, he tried to hide it from me but i caught it. What did he think of these lessons, did he also think they were stupid?

I laughed slightly, "Like what? How to curtsy?" I stopped and gave him a curtsy. "See, I can do that just fine."

He stopped and i could tell he was holding back a laugh. "Well, that was one of the worse curtsies i have ever seen."

"No, it's perfectly fine!" I argued back and did it again to prove my point. This seemed to be too much for Gendry and he actually burst out in laughter. Even though I was annoyed, I couldn't deny how nice it was hearing his laughter. It seemed to seep into me, taking away the terrible sadness I had felt since arriving here and filled me with a little warmth.

He wouldn't stop laughing so I charged up to him and punched him in the shoulder. He acted like it didn't hurt, but i knew i hit him hard enough to leave a sting. My older brother Rob had shown me how to throw a punch when i was growing up, maybe i knew something here that those other ladies didn't. He still continued to laugh, which wound me up even more. I went to hit him again, harder this time but he caught my fist. I tried to pull back, but he held me there in his grip, gave my hand a slight squeeze before letting me go. I stared at him, looking into his eyes wondering what was going through his mind right now. Glancing down i looked at his lips, they was slightly parted and i noticed his breath was a bit uneven as he breathed in. Maybe he was feeling that same tension i was.

"Do you think it's a good idea to punch your teacher?" He was standing very close to me, so close i could reach up and cup his cheek with my hand. But i didn't.

I gave a small shrug and stepped back. "Maybe not, i always used to fight with my brothers, it's my defense now. I may not know how to cursty properly, but i do know how to land a punch."

As if reading my mind he suddenly turned from me, and looked down the hall in the direction we was heading.

"Yes, you definitely do know how to land a punch Arya," He gave a small laugh while rubbing his shoulder. "We will have to go over that curtsy though." He said and continued walking like nothing had just happened. I caught up with his pace and followed him right to the next hallway, not even sure where I was going anymore.

"So, are you going to answer my question from the other day?" She paused to give him time to think. "How old are you?"

"And once again m'lady, that it none of your concern." I gritted my teeth at that word.

"Come on, i'll tell you my age if you tell me yours." I tried bargaining, this usually worked with my brothers when I said I'd give them some of my ice cream if they give me some of their crisps.

"I already know your age Arya, I am your teacher after all." He paused and looked at me. "Why do you want to know so bad?"

"I'm just curious." I said, trying not to make it obvious that i in fact just wanted to know more about him. I found myself thinking of him most days, wondering what he was doing. Thought about his blue eyes. But I actually didn't know much about Gendry Baratheon at all.

He didn't say anything for a while, looked into my pleading eyes and gave a small sigh. "I'm 22. Are you happy now?"

But i wasn't, i wanted to know more. "Why do you want to be a teacher?"

He again stopped walking and I did too. "That's a bit of personal question, don't you think?"

I shrugged, "Not really, again just being friendly and curious."

He nodded towards a sign on the wall, glancing at it, it read 'Lavatory'.

"I don't want to be a teacher." He confessed. As I looked into his eyes I could tell he was being honest, but the answer really surprised me, I couldn't imagine it was true.

"Then why are you here?"

"Because it is what's expected of me. My father will retire soon and someone has to take his place. Sometimes, and you will learn this, you have to do what is expected of you Arya, even if that means sacrificing what you want."

I didn't know how to reply to that so instead just watched him as he continued walking down the hall. Why would you do something you didn't want to do? It didn't make sense to me. Wouldn't every day be a miserable day? Life is too short, we are only here for a short amount of time and I feel you should spend your days doing the things you love.

Once he was out of site, i walked into the ladies toilets, wondering how on earth I was going to find my way back to my class.

**_Thank you so much for reading my story! I hope you're enjoying it so far. _**

**_I have a plan of where i want this story to go, it will probably be around 16 chapters long. I haven't included anything with her parents, if you would like that let me know. If not i will just keep it about this school and Gendry :)_**

**_Also i am sorry but i don't have a beta, so i'm only noticing mistakes when i re-read. When i notice them i will go back and change anything i find. Sorry, hope you understand!_**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Days slowly turned into weeks and soon enough i have been here for my first month at this school. Even though I didn't want to be here, the days went by fast. My lesson kept me busy and I found it hard to be bored. I was always learning something, always doing something, and then when it did come to free time I was too exhausted to think about being bored. I ended up lying on my bed, my mind wandering to Gendry before I fell asleep. The way he laughed, the way he licked his lips. The feel of his chest under my hands...

I also thought about myself, the person i was and the person i wanted to be. I felt like i was a strong woman, even if it wasn't proper, i didn't need a man in my life to do things for me. I was my own ruler, and i didn't want to be just someones wife. Why didn't my parents respect that? Why wouldn't they want that for their daughter, to know who she was? I'd ponder it at night, thinking about the things i was doing right and wrong in my life, and to me i didn't feel like i was doing much wrong. I was training myself ready to be a strong woman, i wanted to be the one people would ask to fight beside, not send away to hide with all the other women.

I hadn't dreamed much since arriving here, but tonight i fell into such a realistic dream that i didn't have no hope of grasping onto reality as i was swept away in the bliss of it all.

My dream began with me lying down on the sofa in my home. I was cuddled up with a blanket thrown over me, my head resting on this person's thigh as my hand run my fingers up and down their leg. We sat there watching the fire burn in the fireplace in front of us. His feet perched up from the floor to rest on the white wood coffee table in front of the fireplace. I looked down at their legs, confused at who's they were. Looking up i saw Gendry smiling down at me. He bent over slightly and gave me a small kiss on the forehead. His lips left tingles on my skin which lingered long after his lips had left.

I turned to lie on my back, so that I could watch him better. His eyes also stayed on me as I moved around. I reached up, letting my hand travel up his stomach, to his chest and finally to rest on his face. He had a small amount of stubble under his chin and on his cheeks. I didn't mind though, I actually liked the roughness under my palm. He gave me a smile and nudged into my hand. "You feel rested now?" He asked and began stroking my hair back from my face. I gave a slight nod, unable to find my words. This felt so real, I longed for it to be real i was shocked to find. "Good," He continued, his fingers running ever so gently down to my neck, which tickled. "You was so tired. Your parents will be home soon, shall we start getting food ready?"

I sat up and looked around. Everything looked how i remembered. I found my heart swelling at the thought of seeing every one again, had they missed me also? "When should we tell them?" Gendry asked, his lips tickling my ear as he whispered, "I hope your father likes me." He started to kiss my cheek next to my ear, and left little pecks as his kisses traveled down my jaw to my neck. I cleaned the blanket tight in my hands, this felt so good. It took all the strength i had to pull myself away.

"Tell them what?" I turned to look at him, not realising how close his face was to mine. He looked at me, his eyes filled with so much love that i couldn't believe that he was looking at me while feeling that way. His hand touched mine bringing it up slightly.

"That we're in engaged." He laughed and brought my hand up to his mouth, gently laying a kiss on my fingers. And there i saw it, a beautiful diamond ring glistening in the summer sun streaming in from the floor length windows to the right of the fire place. I pulled my hand from his and gasped at how beautiful it was, but couldn't help but feel this felt wrong. Did i want this? As i looked into Gendrys eyes, them filled with so much happiness and love, my heart told me, yes Arya, yes you want this! But my brain fought back, knowing the truth.

I shook my head and stood up, trying hard to fight this feeling growing in my chest that everything was out of a place and wrong. As i glanced around i noticed even though the room looked right, the whole place seemed to have a haze.

"We're home!" I heard them call from the front door. It took everything i had not to run to their voices, i longed to see my family, my brothers especially. Looking down at Gendry, i could easily slip back into his embrace and accept what ever this was as the truth. But i shook my head, shaking the thoughts away, suddenly realising the truth.

"Wake up." I said and everything faded away into blackness. I woke up in my room. Myrcella snoring lightly in her bed to the right of me. I sat up and grabbed the water on my night stand next to me, taking a long sip. That had felt so real, some part of me had wanted it to be real. But no, that wasn't what i wanted. Was it?

I thought about what my family would say if i had taken Gendry home as a potential husband. They would be over the moon with joy. The Baratheon household was definitely a suitable name, and would indeed make a suitable husband for me. I could imagine my mother hugging me, telling me how happy she was for me. I could see my father shaking his hand, a light smile spread over his face. I know this to be true as that was exactly what happened when Sansa told them that she had chosen Theon Greyjoy. They met him and was so happy at the pairing. Theon would come to our house a lot growing up see, he was a family friend of Jons and Robs. I thought it was weird, thinking while he was here innocently to see my brothers, maybe it wasn't so innocent after all and he in fact had his eyes on Sansa from the start. But hey, who am i to judge? Sansa was living the life she wanted, and i was glad she was happy.

I stood up and looked out the window. Below the gardeners were caring for the gardens, trimming the beautiful Dragon bush back into shape. The day unfolded much like usual, my classes began the same as they always did. All until it came to the last lesson. Instead of making our way for Maths, yes we had normal lessons too, we was all taken to the hall where we usually ate our food. There stood a few of our teachers, i noticed Varys, Head teacher Robert and also Gendry. I felt my face flush seeing Gendry, that dream had felt real earlier, but i must remember that it wasn't and that i had nothing to be embarrassed about. It's a good thing he couldn't read my thoughts, or maybe he could because he looked and caught my eye as i walked past. I gave a small smile and he returned one back, his eyes lingering on me longer than any other student.

There was also a woman here that i hadn't seen before. She possibly might have been one of the most beautiful women i have ever seen. Long auburn hair that fell around her back and face in loose waves. A small rounded face with large blue eyes. She held a shy smile as she nodded to us all as we walked past her. "Good afternoon Ladies," She greeted. Her voice was also delicate and beautiful. I don't think i was the only one mesmerized by this woman. "My name is Margaery Tyrell, i am your new teacher in the subject dress sense. I'm sorry i haven't greeted you all yet but i have been helping every woman here find the clothes, hair products and make up they need. Which can take a lot of time." She gave us all a smile, as if butter wouldn't melt. I glanced at Gendry, and noticed he was also admiring her too which made my chest pang with jealousy.

"I'll speak to you all individually about what needs to be done, so the rest of you go and do some homework or class assignments until i call your name."

Myrcella was called up first, as i sat at the table i watched with eager eyes to see her reaction. Margaery scanned Myrcella from head toe, running her hands through her hair, rubbing her hands and examining her nails. There wasn't a part of the body that she didn't look at. Once she was done, she called up another girl. Myrcella came and sat by me, a slightly sad look on her face.

"What did she say?" I asked her.

Myrcella wouldn't look at me, i'm sure she was blinking back tears. "She told me i need to start moisturizing as my skin is very dry, my nails need better looking after and that my hair needed a cut as it had a lot of split ends. I can't believe it, i always look after my body, you see me moisturizing every night don't you Arya?" It was true, she was always rubbing coconut oil into her arms and legs before bed. I tried not to laugh or smile at her worry. Gosh this was all so stupid. I nodded and let her carry on fretting about what she needed done, glancing over i saw Gendry looking at me from the other side of the room, he looked amused as he watched me. I gave his a small smile and rolled my eyes, to which he looked away, trying contain his laughter. I saw his father glance back at him, a frown on his face and say something to Gendry. Did he just get told off?

I was called next, I couldn't wait to hear what she had to say about me. As she roamed my body, examining me i did start to feel slightly self conscience. What flaws was she going to point out. I felt every poke and prod of her finger against me, and just stood there trying not to move. After she was done she stepped and examined me from a distance, rubbing her chin as she thought. "Well," She started, here we go. "Apart from the obviously disastrous dress sense, you look fairly well." I didn't know whether to be flattered or hurt by her calling my clothes a disaster. I looked down at my self, today i was wearing sneakers, knee length shorts and a baggy black top. What was wrong with that?

She touched my hair and she circled me. "Your hair is in great condition, probably because you don't do anything with it. You should start styling and wearing it down more often. She ripped the bobble from my hair, not being gentle about it and brushed her fingers through my hair, leaving it around my face. It fell to the middle of my back, now long since i cut it before. "Yes, that is much better." She said. "Add some curls to this and your hair will be beautiful" I think that was the first sort of compliment i had heard from her all day.

Everyone was being examined, Obara was ordered to dye her hair back normal colour and wear less make up. Everyone was given tasks to do. Mine, to find more suitable clothing. I was quite impressed with that, i had expected mine to be worse. I walked and glanced at my reflection on the wall opposite where i sat. I did look pretty with my hair out, i couldn't deny it. But it was annoying always having strands blowing about, getting into your eyes and mouth. As i looked behind me i noticed Gendry admiring me, thinking that i didn't notice. I smiled lightly, maybe wearing my hair out wasn't a bad thing after all.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I was woken up to the sounds of screaming. I sat up in bed, my eyes darting around the room to find what or who was making the sound. But i found nothing, i heard my bedroom door click close and looked over to Myrcella's bed. It was empty with her sheets dismayed and her pink quilt thrown to the floor. She must have gone out to investigate, waking up and moving faster that i did.

Another scream came from outside my door, i stood up, slightly unsteady on my feet from getting up so fast and walked slowly towards the sounds.

I opened the door and found one of the girls sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. She was sitting half the corridor away from my room, and from this distance didn't look too bad. As I got closer, I could see that i was wrong with my first initial thought. She sat there, in just a nightgown, her arms and legs covered in scrams, her upper thigh held a clear hand print that was turning slightly blue/purple where they must have gripped her that hard. I knelt down to her level once I finally reached her.

I shouted for help, wondering why no one else had heard her screams, maybe they were all too scared to come out and see what was going on. I don't blame them i had to think twice before opening my door as well. One by one the bedroom doors open, some of the women screamed at what they saw, but the misfits like myself came running to help. The girl that was on the floor was covered in blood, she had obviously been beaten pretty badly, her scalp held bald patches where someone had ripped her hair out. I swallowed hard, i couldn't even begin to imagine how much pain she must be. "What's your name?" I asked her, but she just rolled her head in the direction of my voice, showing me she was at least still slightly conscience. Under all this i could tell she was a pretty girl, long brown hair and plump lips. She was a petite girl with long slender legs. Why would someone want to hurt her?

A couple of minutes pass and Myrcella bursts through the doors with Gendry and the school doctor in tow. Gendry and the doctor joined me on the floor, Gendry's face was full of shock at what he was seeing, i think we all felt the same. The doctor asked for room so he could examine the girl, whose name i did not know.

I stepped back to follow Gendry and leaned against the wall, watching the doctor examine her. Myrcella came up to me. "I… I heard her screaming. I ran to get the teachers and a doctor when I noticed how bad she was hurt." She said, her eyes pleading with me to see if she did the right thing.

"Yes, you did well Myrcella, thank you." Gendry said, rubbing her shoulder reassuringly. He turned to look at me, voice lowered he asked. "Are you okay?"

I gave a sharp nod and didn't take my eyes off the girl. Looking around at the floor, I couldn't help but notice how almost perfectly clean it was. Too clean to be the scene where this has taken place. I moved through the crowd and tried to look for any clues. There on the wall by the women's joint bathroom was a smeared bloody hand print. I followed it and looked into the room.

It was a mess, there were towels, soap, toothbrushes everything was scattered all over the blood dotted floor. Also sprinkled around was locks of the girls long brown hair that looked like it had been ripped out with such force. I gasped and held my hand over my mouth because of what I saw. If I closed my eyes I was sure I could picture of the violence that had happened here. I wasn't scared of violence, I was sure I could win most of the fights here with any of these women. But this wasn't your ordinary violence, this was something that was done with the intention of just making someone else suffer. I couldn't imagine inflicting this sort of pain on another living thing, never mind doing it to a human as they begged me to stop.

The person that did this had no heart.

"Arya, come away from there." Gendry pleaded, touching my shoulder, trying to pull me back. But I shrugged him of.

"Do you want to find who done this don't you?" I asked.

He gave a small nod. "Well, this will work better with the two of us looking for clues."

We both examined the room, I did what I could to block any feelings I felt as I picked up items to examine them closer. There wasn't anything here that pointed us to who the attacker was, seeing as this was a shared bathroom, there was a lot of items here that belong to many different people. Even my own toothbrush was crushed on the floor, its bristles soaked in blood. I picked it up and sighed, laying it down on the counter top by the bathroom sink. There, next to my hand I noticed the name Jamie, carved into the countertop, with a love heart around it.

"Arya, i've found something." Gendry called from one of the bathroom stalls. I went inside with him, and written on the stall wall with a thick black substance was the words. 'Stay quiet, or die bitch.' I dipped my finger into the substance and smelled it. It was black shoe polish.

"Stay quiet?" Gendry asked, looking to me for any clues. I shook my head. I didn't know any gossip here at this school. In all fairness, if there was any gossip i'm sure i would be the last person to know as i didn't really have any friends. Did Myrcella count as a friend? I'm not sure.

We looked around the room some more but came up empty handed. Leaving we realised that the victim had come around a bit. Gendry pushed his way through the crowd and knelt in front of her. Her eyes were open but she looked around all confused and dazed, like she was waking up from a dream.

"What's your name?" He asked her, she caught his eyes with hers but then closed her lids again.

"Gilly…" She managed to get out.

"What happened to you Gilly?"

Her lips looked pale and dry, I felt the pain in her throat every time she spoke. "I was attacked, i…. I didn't see…"

"Who did this?" I asked.

Her eyes found mine and she gave a soft smile, "No one." She whispered before her eyes closed and she passed out. No one?

I pondered that for a moment, was it a clue? I'm sure whoever did this to her made sure she would stay quiet about their identities with more threats of violence if caught out. But to say 'no one' that felt like she was giving us a clue to their identity without saying to much.

Or I could just be overthinking this.

The doctor took Gilly away to the nursing quarters of the school, and slowly everyone went back to their rooms.

I helped Gendry get everyone back to bed, before we both lingers at my door with Myrcella inside.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that." He said gently, leaning on the door frame opposite where i stood leaning again my door frame.

I chewed my lip nervously, not sure what to say. It's okay? It wasn't okay. I wish I could forget what i had seen also. But i couldn't and he didn't have to apologise to me. I reached forward and rubbed my hand up and down his arm, trying to ignore the spark I felt from our touch. "It's not your fault, you don't need to say sorry to me."

He looked down at me, his face filled with emotion, but I couldn't tell what that emotion was, fondness? Yes, fondness i decided.

"I will get staff members to take inventory of the bathroom and replace what everyone has lost, also to see if anything was stolen? Maybe that was their motive?"

I shook my head. "No, this was too personal. The amount of harm caused to Gilly, it had to have been meant for her, maybe revenge or a warning?" I suggested.

He licked his lips as he pondered this, then nodded in agreement. "You're good at this stuff Arya. Make's up for that awful curtsy the other day." He gave a small laugh and reached up, tucking a loose stray of hair behind her ear. "I like your hair like this." He said, and surprised both of us with what he was doing. His hand held the stray hairs and followed them down past my neck and my collar bone. But he stopped and dropped his hand before he went any further. He seemed so relaxed, like he was his true self being natural for a moment. But we weren't supposed to be so close, he was my teacher after all.

"Sorry," He stammered, and began walking away. I was about to go into my room thinking about what had just happened when he called my name from the other side of the hallway. "Please lock your room tonight."

I slunk into my room, not sure if my feet would carry me to my bed. I felt horrible for Gilly, but had to physically but my lip to stop myself from smiling. Gendry cared about me too, in what way yet I wasn't sure. But he definitely cared.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I was walking the gardens, the air around me felt heavy and I felt sweaty, my plain black t-shirt sticking to my back. I was looking around at the beautiful gardens as i walked slowly along, classes where finished for the say and seeing as it was such a beautiful day it felt a waste to spend my free time sitting in my room. At the far right before the trees was the stables where the horses were kept. The one thing they taught here that i was actually interested in was horse back riding. The stables was big enough to hold around 10 horses and some of the girls were outside now with the horses, grooming them. I noticed Gilly standing with a black horses, brushing its coat. I walked to her, i hadn't spoken to her since the incident which was around a week ago now. She hadn't been to any of her classes, so this must have been the first time she's been out of the doctors quarters, which was sort of like a mini hospital.

"Hello," I greeted, standing by the horse she was grooming. I run my hand through it's coat, it felt so smooth and warm in this heat. She paused and looked at me, her eyes light up with recognition.

"You was there that day." She said, her voice was hoarse and quite. Her bruises was a lot fainter now, the scars on her arms now not as raw and fading to a pink colour. She had her hair up, hiding the bald patches.

I nodded, "Yes, my name is Arya Stark." I paused, noticing the way her hand began to shake slightly as i spoke. "How are you feeling?"

She gave a small shrug and winced in what i thought was pain. "I'll be okay. Still a bit sore, but i'll live."

I grabbed a brush that was hanging up on the stable wall near where we was stood and began grooming the horse with her. "What happened?"

She stopped what she was doing to look at me, her face was hard and her eyes where filled with fear. It was only briefly that she held this expression before she looked away, hiding how she felt from me. "I don't remember, it's a blur."

I also stopped and stepped closer to her, "If someone's threatened you to stay quite, don't be frightened. I can help you." I don't know why i was getting involved, this had nothing to do with me after all. But i couldn't help myself. I had to get to the bottom of who done this, and why. My mind was filed with potential suspects, but really i had nothing to go on. I could tell that Gilly was scared, and i wasn't surprised after the beating she had.

"Thanks, but really don't remember."

"You must remember something-"

"I don't want to talk about it." She interrupted. Her eyes pleaded with me to let it go. So i did, we finished brushing the horse in silence and i watched as she walked away back to the school, her pace slow. I sighed and walked to the bench facing the trees and sat down, my mind filled with questions that i doubt would ever be answered. Why would someone do that? She seemed like such a sweet girl, maybe a bit of an air head but still a sweet girl besides that. I bit my lip as I thought about it, absentmindedly running my hand up and down the hard wood of the bench.

As I looked around, I was in awe of the beauty here. The grass was green, which was a hard contrast to the yellow brick wall that surrounded me, encasing us in the school. Outside I could hear the city life, people talking as they walked by, probably unaware of the people inside here, of me longing to be in their shoes.

I must have bit my lip too hard because I suddenly tasted blood, it didn't realize that i had bit that hard. I rubbed my finger over my lip then stared down at the blood stain that was now there. My mind flashed back to Gilly, the blood and bruises on her pale arms and legs, the patches of hair missing after being pulled from her scalp with force. My body shivered at the thought.

No attacks had happened since then, which led me to believe that this was a personal attack on Gilly herself. But still, I couldn't grasp my head around the motive. There was no motive. I've spoken to many of the girls here, most of them didn't even know Gilly, and for the ones that did, they had nothing but kind words to say about her.

"You look deep in thought." He said before he sat down next to me, making the bench creek under both of our weights. I looked at him, his hair was growing, a bit of it now rested near his eyes. Give it another week and I'm sure that strand of hair will come rather annoyingly close to dangling in his eyes.

I gave a nod and turned back to lean my back against the hard wood of the bench, closing my eyes and leaning my head back slightly. The sun's rays beat down on me. It was like a sun trap where I was sitting, not many people could stick it. I could imagine Sansa moaning about it now, her pale skin turning slightly red. I wonder how long Gendry would last. "You've cut your lip." He said. I felt movement as the weight shifted on the bench. Then I felt his touch on my bottom lip and my eyes flew open. He ran his thumb across my lip, it was slightly tender but not painful enough to moan about. His eyes found mine, as his thumb traced the cut, probably lingering for longer than it should have. He backed away and slowly his eyes drifted to his blood stained thumb.

I pulled my eyes from his and licked my lip, tasting the iron. "I'm okay, don't worry." I found myself thinking about what he said to me the other day as we walked through the hallway. He didn't want to be a teacher, I don't know why but the thought of Gendry stuck here doing something he didn't want to do really troubled me.

He must know exactly how I feel, neither of us wanted to be here. "What do you want to do, seeing as you don't want to be a teacher?" The question just flew out of my mouth before I had time to think. I could see the question surprised him just as much as it shocked me.

"Arya," he began, and by his tone I could already tell he was going to brush me off with a comment about expectations. I didn't want to hear about that so I interrupted him.

"Gendry, " I began, copying his tone, " Please, be real with me. You are the only person I can talk too in the damn school about normal things, I'm fed up of taking about boys, and what clothes to wear and how to act. I just want to talk about real things for once." It was sort of a plea. It was true, but I was shocked that I was telling him that. After all he was my teacher, and an authority figure at this school. But something about Gendry made me feel safe, and I thought he was trustworthy.

He didn't say anything for a while, his eyes dropped from mine and looked down, I think to watch my hand gripped tightly onto the bench. I hadn't even noticed I was doing it until he was looking at it. I relaxed my hand and leaned back against the solid bench.

"Blacksmith." He finally answered. "I enjoy making weapons, armory, that sort of thing. I've always done it, since I was a child. Though as I grew and learned more about the craft, what I made became better as well. I loved doing it, its seemed to come so natural to me, but my father told me it wasn't what was expected, that I had to follow his footsteps. So now, I do it as a hobby. And this is my job."

"Can't you see how unfair that is? You should be able to do what you want to do Gendry, just like I should be free to do what I want. Not being here is this damn school!" I stood up and began walking, not really with a destination in mind. I just felt so annoyed that sitting at this bench was no longer an option, I had to do something. Well I wasn't really walking, more like marching, I could feel my arms swaying rapidly by my sides as I marched forward, towards the tree line that surrounded the large yellow brick wall. I could faintly hear Gendry calling after me, but I did what I could to push his voice to the back of my mind as the rage I felt burned through me. But then, I felt his hand around my arm. The touch was electric. I stopped and look down at his hand, and he did the same. The grip was hard and tight, almost desperate to keep me where I was. As we looked at his hand the grip loosened until eventually his hand was just placed on my arm, he gently rubbed my arm, trying to comfort me before I eventually looked up at him. I must have traveled further than I thought, because he looked slightly out of breath for trying to keep up with me. We were also in the tree line, I doubt anyone could see us now unless they were looking hard enough.

"Please Arya, calm down." He said, his hand still lightly rubbing my arm. "I don't mind my job. Is it my passion? No. But I do enjoy it. After all, I get to meet some incredible people." He said looking at me with a soft smile.

Was he insinuating that he thought I was incredible?

I gave a sigh and nodded. "But I don't want to get married. I want to do so many things before I get married."

"I don't want you to get married either." He said and I couldn't keep my shocked expression to myself. As if realising what he said he dropped his hand from my arm and stammered to find another sentence. "What I mean is, I don't think any of you should get married so young. But I can't choose that, that's your parents decision. All I can do is help with your education. I think you'll get an excellent education here."

I laughed "You would say that, your the headmaster's son."

He laughed as well and I began walking through the tree line again, being careful of the overgrowing roots that stuck out of the ground. "So, what do you want to do Arya?" He asked, following after me but his feet not as steady as mine.

I didn't hesitate. " I want to explore the world." I didn't have a plan, but I know what I wanted to do. "I want to see everything, visit every country, hear every language before I settle down and have a family."

"Maybe your husband will want the same thing? He'd want to make you happy."

I gave him a small smile, "I doubt that." I didn't have any experience when it came to men, but what i did know wasn't that pleasant. They wanted the perfect woman, if that even existed, to be a person just to show off to other men. A trophy i suppose. I wasn't that type of woman, Sansa, she was. But me, I didn't take being told what to do very well. My father has always told me I had a foul mouth for a lady.

"Well I would, I'd want the woman I was going to marry to be happy, satisfied with her life. If travelling was what she desired I would at least try to make it possible." I could tell that he was being sincere. Maybe some men wasn't as bad as I thought, maybe there was some good ones out there.

"Maybe I should tell my parents that I'll marry you then Gendry." I said teasingly, stopping to let him catch up with me. He stopped as he came to stand behind me. The sun's rays had escaped through the blanket of leaves from above us and cast lights on Gendry's face as he looked down at me. Every time I looked at him, I was still in awe at how handsome he was. I wondered what he thought about as he looked at me, did he find himself thinking that i was beautiful also? His hand reached up, and pushed a stray piece of hair behind my ear, my breath caught and I couldn't hear him breathing either. His finger travelling down my shoulder, down my arm until his hand was in mine, tugging me slightly in his direction.

"I've got something I want to show you." He said, his hand still tugging me to follow him. He led me deeper into the woods, deep enough that no one could see us now. I admired the beauty around me, the cracked bark of the trees leaked sap that glistened in the few rays of sun that had managed to escape through the leaves. I could hear birds chirping their morning songs back and forth to one another, I wondered what they were saying to each other.

Eventually we came across a large wooden structure, too big to be a shed but too small to be called anything else. From the school I hadn't noticed anything in the trees. "What's this?" I asked, he let go of my hand to push open the door.

"My escape." He said and went into the darkness. I followed and was hit with a rusky smell, I couldn't see a thing as the door creaked closed behind me, so did not venture to far. I could hear a few clunks and clangs before there was a flicker of light as he lit a candle. He lit a few more and revealed what was around me. I was surrounded by weapons, of all shapes and sizes. Armor that was strangely beautiful, the way it had been crafted. I ran my hand over a few, feeling how strong they were but also smooth at the same time. "Did you make these?" I asked, looking back at him. He was sitting on an old dust covered sofa. The room was quite empty really apart from what hung on the walls. I did also notice a photo frame, the picture inside was of a much younger Gendry, his father and a woman i assumed was his mother. Also at the back of the room on the center of the wall was a bulls head helmet. I felt like that was more for show than actually being useful, but still, it was amazing.

He gave me a small nod, "Yes, these are some of my favourite pieces that i have made."

I walked to some of the swords, my hands unable to stop themselves from feeling the smooth cold steel. "You're very talented Gendry."

I hadn't noticed him move to come and stand beside me. "Do you know how to use a sword?"

I shook my head, still admiring his work.

"I'll show you, if you want." He paused. "I'm not very good mind, but i will show you what I know."

"Won't you get in trouble? Ladies shouldn't fight."

He gave a small nod. "Yes, but i'm sure you won't tell anyone. Besides, I think everyone should know how to defend themselves."

I suddenly realized how close he was to me. I could feel the heat of his body radiating on my skin. My heart began to hammer hard in my chest. I felt my hand move, only slight to graze his. He didn't move away.

"I'd like that." It was all I could manage to get out, my throat felt very coarse suddenly.

He also seemed affected, and adverted his gaze to the bulls helmet in front of us. "What are your parents like?"

"Well seeing as they brought me here against my will, they're not my favorite people in the world right now. "

He ran his hand through his hair, his face deep in thought. "I think they brought you here because they want what's best for you. Being a Lady in your family is what is considered normal. Finding a suitor at a young age is also normal, no doubt your mother went through the same thing. They are just doing what they believe is right."

"My parents are good people." I said, because even though i didn't like what they have done to me, they are good people. "I had an amazing childhood. We live on a beautiful estate, big open spaces to go and explore. My mother would always try and keep me in with my sister and learn to sew, or how to dance. But, i would always escape with my brothers. My father would even join us on our travels. But i guess as i got older, my adventurous side became more of a hindrance." I paused and watched his hand graze the bulls helmet, before he moved away to sit on the sofa again. I followed him. "What is your parents like?"

He gave a small shrug, watching me as i sat next to him. "I was young when my mother passed away, so i can't really remember much about her. From the photo's i have seen, she was very beautiful though. I've always heard stories about how people was drawn to her. That she was very kind and also welcoming, that no one ever felt left out in a party because she would be there talking to everyone." He gave a small chuckle to himself, "But my father..."He trailed off, his voice turning cold. "He is my father, a bit of a lush. But a hard worker, and i know he wants the best for me." I leaned back into the sofa, enjoying its comfort.

"I'm so sorry, about your mother. It must have been hard to lose her, especially when so young."

He shook his head. "Don't say sorry, it's not your fault. And if i'm honest, i cant remember her, so there's not really anything to miss. I just regret not getting a chance to know her."

"Do you think she'd want you to be a teacher, or to follow your dreams?" I didn't mean to ask such a personal question, but it had left my mouth before my mind had time to process it.

His head snapped to look at me, his eyes looked slightly hurt. He didn't answer me straight away, but when he spoke it was so low that i could barely hear it. "I'm sure she'd want me to chase my dreams."

His hand moved up to my face, his thumb again tracing the cut on my lip. Every part that his hands touched felt like fire. It exploded on my skin and traveled to my stomach where the burn lingered and grew, almost to hot for me to contain.

"I am sorry that you're going through this Arya, I know you don't want to be here. But I am glad you came, otherwise I would never have met you. Whoever your parents choose for you to marry, he is a lucky man."

I felt him begin to move away, but I didn't want him too. I reached up, gripping the wrist of the hand that was resting on my face, again feeling that fire burning on contact. "If the man is half as nice as you are, i'm sure i'll be okay."

He smiled slightly, "Are you going soft on me?" His voice was low, a whisper. But i heard it clear. I noticed his eyes drop from mine to my lips. Was he thinking the same thing as me, how they would feel pressed against mine?

"Perhaps." I said, barely able to control myself from leaning forward to pressing my lips to his. What would it feel like to kiss him? I have never kissed anyone before. Never mind someone older than me, my teacher no less. We couldn't. But why did i want too so badly?

We were so close, his breathing mixing with mine, causing shivers to run up my spin, when a loud ear piercing scream ripped through us, tearing whatever was about to happen apart. We both looked to the door, it came from outside.

He ran towards the scream first, opening the door and letting the breeze that gushed in blow away whatever had just happened between us.


End file.
